Managing the Review Round

Overview of a Review Round

A review round groups all reviewer activity for one cycle of peer review on a submission. Most submissions go through one or two rounds; however, OJS supports as many rounds as needed. Each round tracks its own set of reviewers, files, and deadlines independently.

The current round is always visible at the top of the Review stage panel in the submission workspace.

Tracking Reviewer Responses

The Reviewers panel lists every invited reviewer and their current status. Check this panel regularly to identify reviewers who need a follow-up.

Status	Recommended Action
Invited	Wait until the "consider by" deadline; send a reminder if no response
Accepted	Monitor progress; send a courtesy reminder one week before the review due date
Declined	Invite a replacement reviewer promptly
No Response	Send a manual reminder email or cancel and replace
Review Submitted	Read the review; click Confirm to acknowledge receipt
Review Confirmed	No further action needed for this reviewer

Sending reminders

Click the ▼ action menu beside a reviewer's name and select Send Reminder to fire a pre-templated reminder email. You can edit the email before sending.

Viewing Completed Reviews

When a reviewer submits their review:

1. A notification appears in your OJS notifications panel
2. The reviewer's status changes to Review Submitted
3. Click Read Review in the Reviewers panel to open the review form responses and any uploaded files

Reviews typically contain:

• Structured ratings or recommendation fields (e.g. Accept, Revisions Required, Decline)
• Free-text comments for the author
• Confidential comments for the editor only

Confidential comments

Only the Section Editor (and Journal Manager) can see the Comments for the Editor field. Do not copy these into the author notification email.

Extending Reviewer Deadlines

If a reviewer needs more time:

1. Click the ▼ action menu next to the reviewer's name
2. Select Edit
3. Update the Review Due date in the dialog
4. Click OK — the reviewer is notified automatically if the journal has that notification enabled

You can also extend the Consider By date for reviewers who have not yet accepted.

Reviewer-initiated extensions

Reviewers can also request an extension themselves from their dashboard. You will receive an on-screen notification and can approve or modify the proposed new date.

Re-inviting Declined Reviewers

If a reviewer declines after you have already collected other reviews and need a replacement:

1. Click Add Reviewer to invite a new person
2. Alternatively, click the declined reviewer's action menu and select Reinvite to send a fresh invitation to the same person with an updated deadline

It is generally more effective to invite a new reviewer rather than re-inviting someone who has already declined.

Using Discussion Threads

Each review round includes a Review Discussions panel for editorial communication:

1. Click Add Discussion to start a new thread
2. Add participants (reviewers, authors, editors) as needed
3. Type your message and attach files if relevant
4. Click OK — all participants receive an email notification

Use discussion threads to:

• Ask a reviewer a clarifying question without exposing other reviewers
• Share decision-relevant context with your Editor-in-Chief
• Document unusual procedural steps for the audit trail

Keeping records

Discussion threads are permanently stored with the submission and form part of the editorial record. Prefer them over off-system email for any substantive editorial communication.

Starting a New Review Round

After an initial review and a decision of Revisions Required, the author submits revised files. If those revisions warrant another round of peer review:

1. In the Review stage, scroll to the Review Rounds section
2. Click New Round
3. Select which revised files to include in the new round
4. Confirm — a fresh Reviewers panel and file list appear for Round 2
5. Assign reviewers as you would for Round 1

The previous round's reviews remain accessible under the Round 1 tab for reference.

Further Reading

• Learning OJS – Editorial Workflow — managing review rounds and decisions
• PKP Community Forum — peer support for editorial workflow questions